OUR PRIVACY NOTICE

1. Introduction

Hope Community Church values everyone who engages with us by whatever means, and we do all we can to protect your privacy and to make sure the personal data you provide us is kept safe. This policy explains how we collect data, how we use and store information and what it means for you.

2. Who we are

Hope Community Church is the data controller (contact details below). This means it decides how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

3. What information we collect

This privacy notice explains how Hope Community Church and it’s website comply with the DPA (Data Protection Act) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Hope Community Church complies with its obligations under the GDPR by keeping personal data up to date; by storing and destroying it securely; by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data; by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.

a. Directly from us

  • We collect personal information each time you deal with us, for example when you provide your contact details orally or in writing to us; request materials or information; sign up for an event; access social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, or otherwise provide your personal details.

b. From website interaction from us

We collect non-personal data such as IP addresses, details of pages visited and files downloaded. Website usage information is collected using cookies, see the section on Cookies below.

c. Where you give permission to other organisations

We may collect information that you make available on, for example, Twitter, Facebook or similar organisations. You may wish to check their privacy policy to find out more information on how they will process your data.

d. Sensitive data

Where you provide the information, we may collect sensitive personal data, including, but not limited to, your religious beliefs, or your physical or mental health.

4. What we do with it

a. Processing of requests

We collect personal information each time you deal with us, for example when you provide your contact details in writing to the church; request materials or information; sign up for an event; or otherwise provide your personal details. We may use the personal data we collect:

·      To inform you of news, events, activities and services running at Hope Community Church

·      To enable us to provide a voluntary service for the benefit of the public;

·      To provide pastoral care to our attendees;

·      To administer attendance records;

·      To provide an interactive website where email is used to communicate with users;

b. Basis of processing your data

So that we can provide services you have requested, and keep you informed about news, events, activities and services, we will process your personal data on the basis of the consent you provided us with. You are free to change your preferences at any time.

5. How and where we store your information

a. How long?

We will keep your personal information only for as long as we consider it necessary to carry out each activity. 

b. Security

We ensure that we have appropriate technical controls in place to protect any personal data you provide. For example, we ensure that any online forms are encrypted. We ensure that access to personal data is restricted only to those whose roles within the church which require such access.

We may in the future make limited use from time to time of external companies to collect or process personal data on our behalf. When we do so, we will carry out checks on these companies, put in place contracts to make sure our requirements are clear, and carry out periodic reviews. If we do use external companies, we remain responsible for the storing and processing of your personal data.

6. When we share your personal information

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with members of the church in order to carry out a service or for purposes connected with the church. We will only share your data with third parties with your consent.

a. Legal duty

We may need to pass on information if required by law or by a regulatory body or if asked for details by a law enforcement agency.

b. Our service providers

We do not sell or pass any of your personal information to any other organisations and/or individuals without your express consent, with the following exception – by providing us with your details you are giving the church your express permission to transfer your data to our service providers including mailing houses, such as MailChimp, to enable fulfilment of the purpose for collection.

Where such details are shared we have confidentiality agreements in place that restrict the use of your information to the purpose for which it is provided and ensure it is stored securely and kept no longer than necessary. We may employ agents to carry out tasks on our behalf. These agents are bound by contract to protect your data and we remain responsible for their actions.

We may provide third parties with general information about users of our site, but this information is both aggregate and anonymous. However, we may use IP address information to identify a user if we feel that there are or may be safety and/or security issues or to comply with legal requirements.

7. Cookies

a. What are cookies?

A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Our website makes use of cookies.

b. How we use them on our website

To enjoy our website to the full, we recommend that you leave cookies turned on. If you turn off cookies then you may not be able to access parts of the site. The cookie data that we collect we may use to customise the content on our website and to help to understand visitor’s current and future needs

c. Managing cookies

Most browsers allow you to turn off the cookie function. To do this you can look at the help function on your browser.

The website also features a cookie consent system to allow you to control which cookies are enabled on the site. Please note some features such as video playback will not work without cookies being allowed. 

d. Third party cookies

We work with a number of third party suppliers who set cookies on our website to enable them to provide us with services. These are mainly used for reporting purposes so we can improve the way we communicate. We use websites such as Vimeo to embed videos and you may be sent cookies from these websites.

We may also use third party suppliers such as Google Analytics and these providers may use cookies. They may also use tracking pixels, which are commonly found in advertising to track the effectiveness of adverts. As some of these services may be based outside of the UK and the European Union, they may not fall under the jurisdiction of UK courts. If you are concerned about this you can change your cookie settings (see above)

8.Your choices and telling us when things change

a. Preferences

You can change your preferences on what you receive from us, or how we contact you at any time. You can do so by:

b. Updating your details

We do appreciate it if you keep your details up to date. You can do so in the same way as updating your preferences (above). We may use Post Office address search, postcode lists or other available sources to confirm data that you provide us with, where, for example, we are unsure of what you have completed on a form. We will not use these sources to create data that you have chosen not to provide, for example, if you have left a telephone number blank; nor will we automatically update changes of address, we will normally only update your address when you tell us it’s changed.

c. Telling us to stop processing

You have the right to ask us to erase your personal data, to ask us to restrict our processing or to object to our processing of your personal data. You can do so by:

9. Access to your information

You have the right to request details of the information we hold about you. To make this request, please write to us at the details above. For more information about your rights under the Data Protection Act (DPA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) you can visit the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk.

10. Changes to this privacy notice

This privacy notice was last updated in March 2020. We may amend this policy from time to time to take account of changes to our processes or changes to data protection or other legislation. If we make any significant changes to this policy we will show this clearly on our website or in our communications. By continuing to use our website you will be deemed to have accepted these changes.

11. Further processing

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Protection Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.

12. Governing law

The Privacy Notice is subject to English law. All claims or disputes (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with the use of the websites shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. If you have any queries please contact us at welcome@hope-community.church 

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